Archive for the 'David Crosby' Tag Under 'Soundcheck' Category

David Crosby scored all kinds of high points just for walking on stage Sunday night at the Troubadour.

Back in February, he postponed a five-night solo run at the West Hollywood landmark to undergo emergency heart surgery. Yet here he was, a mere two months, later performing a full-length concert that didn't cut any corners.

Indeed, the 72-year-old folk and rock legend has had a number of well-publicized health issues in the past, including, most famously, a liver transplant in 1994. While he looked thin and at times tired over the course of his 150-minute concert, the multiple standing ovations that followed the rousing one that erupted when he stepped into view a couple minutes after 8 p.m. were soundly earned.

At this kickoff show, Crosby still proved capable of delivering new and classic material with emotional power and grace. The first of two sets found him and an amazing five-man band performing his latest album, Croz, from start to finish. Released in January, it's not only the Los Angeles native's first solo work in 20 years but boasts some of the most powerful songs he has recorded. (Its Top 40 debut on Billboard's albums chart also marks the first time he's been ranked on that list as a solo artist since his 1971 cult classic If I Could Only Remember My Name.)

A few extra Coachella-related shows had already snuck out, like Bryan Ferry’s April 15 performance at Club Nokia. But now organizer Goldenvoice has revealed the remainder of its slate of Indio attractions that will make smaller appearances throughout Southern California before, between and after the festival.

It’s broken down in three weeks of on-sales, with this Friday’s the biggest batch by far.

That includes the Afghan Whigs at Pappy & Harriet’s in Pioneertown on April 9, $30; Motörhead (fronted by Lemmy, above center) at Club Nokia on April 11, $36.50-$46.50; Bonobo, April 15 at the Glass House, $23; Temples with Drowners, April 15 at the Roxy, $15; Bombay Bicycle Club with Bear Hands and Royal Canoe, April 15, $29.50; the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, April 16 at the Echo, price unavailable; City and Colour with James Vincent McMorrow, April 17 at the Fox Theater in Pomona, $29.50; Mogwai with Majeure, April 17 at El Rey Theatre, $30; Neko Case (left) with the Dodos, April 17 at the Orpheum Theatre, $35; Adventure Club with Headhunterz, April 17 at Club Nokia, $25-$40; Dum Dum Girls, April 17 at the Roxy, $17; and Zoé, April 18 at the Glass House, $25-$30.

The Observatory in Santa Ana also scored a clutch of Localchella gigs, presented as separate-ticket doubleheaders. On April 15, Cage the Elephant command the main stage, with Juliette Lewis opening ($25), while Future Islands will play the Constellation Room ($15). On April 17, Crosses will take over in the larger hall ($25) and Temples and Drowners will appear in Constellation ($15).

For singer-songwriter Graham Nash, writing a memoir was never on his to-do list. “I never felt I was old enough,” he says. “I thought you did that when you were 10,000 years old and I’m only 71 now.”

But one night at his home in Hawaii, as Nash shared stories about his life, a book-agent friend saw on the spot what Nash until then had not: those 71 years made for one heck of an amazing autobiography.

Nash co-launched two superstar groups in the ’60s, first the Hollies, then Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and both so successful and beloved that he’s a two-time inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Cass Elliot of the Mamas & the Papas had been his BFF, and later he lived with lovers the likes of Joni Mitchell and Rita Coolidge. He also helped pioneer the role of rock star as conscious crusader, casting his clout behind efforts to stop nuclear proliferation, bring about peace and save the environment.

You didn’t have to be a book agent to see the story in that. And so Nash decided to revisit his life, from his boyhood in post-war England through the swinging ’60s, the stoned ’70s and up to today, motivated in part by the idea that he should share these stories with his children – and his first granddaughter, Stellar Joy – so they’ll really know who he was and what he’d done.

January 19th, 2011, 11:16 pm by DAVID HALL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Well, the Coachella lineup has been revealed, and though the rumor has persisted every year since a one-off reunion in 2007, Led Zeppelin is not among the many reputed artists slated for the annual desert fest. (Maybe it's time to adopt a new dream band?)

But die-hard fans of the legendary group might find consolation in the news that Robert Plant will appear just days after the big Indio bash, returning to the Greek Theatre on April 23, with a second West Coast show booked at Santa Barbara Bowl on April 25. Plant's performances will support his latest Grammy-nominated solo release, Band of Joy. Tickets for the Greek show, $40-$95, go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m., while the Bowl gig goes on sale an hour later, $43-$73.

Up for grabs right now: a second night -- following a sold-out April 14 show -- of Janet Jackson's Number Ones, Up Close and Personal Tour, April 15 at Gibson Amphitheatre. Tickets, including fees, are $62.50-$276.

A few months later at that Universal CityWalk venue, Rush returns for two nights, June 20 and 22, on the 2011 leg of the Canadian trio's Time Machine Tour. Once again, 1981's Moving Pictures will be played in its entirety, along with a separate set of classics. Tickets, $83.70-$180, are on sale Monday at 10 a.m.

Earlier today pop star Katy Perry announced North American dates for her California Dreams Tour, which kicks off June 7 in Atlanta and ends with a two-night (Aug. 13-14) homecoming stand at Santa Barbara Bowl. Just before that, on Aug. 5, she'll give her first full-length performance (not just a radio-show appearance) at Nokia Theatre. Check back for on-sale details.